Rugby League is superior to the NFL and All-Star Weekend is a waste of time

this was originally posted on nostr and warpcast

Prompted by recent comments I made about NFL and All-Star weekend. Wanted to give you a primer on the best physical contact sport in the world — rugby league (“league”).

I say this because a) it’s what I grew up with, and b) it’s arguably true.

A big thread 👇

INTRO:

Some history, some rules… I’ll talk about why it’s better then the NFL, why State of Origin shows All-Star weekend to be a waste of time, and a breakdown of gameplay demonstrating the physicality, athleticism and IQ that makes it great.

HISTORY:

  • Been played since 1895
  • Not same as rugby union (“Rugby”) which is also inferior
  • One of Australia’s dominant sporting comps
  • National Rugby League (NRL) is played by 21 Australian and New Zealand-based teams
  • Also played in England, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea (though their best players play NRL).

📖 RULES - GENERAL:

  • 80 mins long (2 x 40 min halves, no stoppages)
  • Field is 100M (109 yards) x 68M (75 yards)
  • At each end is an in-goal area (like an endzone)
  • Points are scored by placing the ball with control in the in-goal area (called a “try”)

📖 RULES - GENERAL (cont.):

  • try = 4 points
  • conversion = 2 points
  • field goal = 1 point
  • 13 players on the field for each team
  • 4 reserve players per side and 8 interchanges per game

📗 RULES - GAMEPLAY:

  • 6 tackles (like a “down”) to score a try
  • When tackled, you must stand and “play the ball” back between your legs
  • If you don’t score you turn the ball over (like failing to convert a 4th down)
  • Defending team must retreat 10M from each play the ball
  • Can’t drop ball forwards (only back)
  • Can only pass backwards (can’t pass to a player in front of you). Underhand passing far better for this than QB style overhand throws
  • If you kick down field, players must be behind you to get involved in play
  • When defending, can’t make dangerous contact with attacking player (no head, ankles, knees, etc)
  • No timeouts, no in-between play stoppages to reset. It’s just continuous gameplay
  • Lack of NFL helmets/padding also makes it a safer contact sport, as there’s more technique applied to tackles than the NFL

🧐 NRL VS NFL:

  • NFL is too stifling
  • Athleticism neutered by huddles, timeouts, time stoppages
  • Coach has too much direct influence. There’s no continuous play that lets the players play
  • Spontaneity is crushed and robotic procedure is rewarded
  • Basketball is America’s greatest athletic sport but that also would benefit from less stoppages and timeouts
  • Minutiae of American sports rules and their application destroy watchability
  • NFL “safety” equipment only encourages dangerous collisions. That’s all they are—collisions. There’s no technique.
  • Best players from each state (and for most part, best players in the game) play against each other
  • Not pointless spectacle. There’s a lot of pride on the line
  • Rugby league at its most athletic, brutal and brilliant
  • Execution of all-star games in US sports are a waste of time in comparison

✍️ GAMEPLAY BREAKDOWN:

  • Going to use an example from 2013 State of Origin game
  • https://youtu.be/ctsjPu-iP40?t=378
  • NSW (blue) kicks off to QLD (maroon)
  • QLD work through the first set of six of the match, playing for field position with a kick downfield at the end

💡HOW TO WIN IN ATTACK:

  • If you’re getting tackled, your goal is to “find your front” as quickly as possible.
  • Means you can play the ball faster, defensive line can’t reset, and gives your team momentum
  • You can see the QLD player do just that
qld winning play the ball

💡HOW TO WIN IN DEFENSE:

  • Wrestle the attacking player onto their back and slow the play the ball down.
  • Give your team more time to reset in defense and slow attacking momentum
  • You can see NSW defenders to this here
nsw winning play the ball
  • Both instances require explosive power for the run, solid strength for contact and great core strength to win the play the ball
  • And this is all continuous
  • Every tackle requires an incredible level of skill and athleticism
  • Players will average 8km running distance per game

🧠 GAME IQ:

  • League constantly demands you to play “heads up”

  • Playmakers are constantly looking to take advantage of bad defensive decisions

  • Lead up to QLD’s 2nd try (https://youtu.be/ctsjPu-iP40?t=1402), the QLD dummy-half can go left or right. He goes left. Here’s why:

  • In defense, you have 12 players in the defending line, with a fullback behind the line organizing the defense

  • If you split the field at the goal posts, the ideal defense has 6 players on either side of the field

qld dummy half playmaking
  • the QLD playmaker goes left because doing a split-second count, identifies a miscount
  • the right side defense only has 5 defenders against 6 attacking players
  • so he runs the play that way, they create an overlap, and QLD score a try
qld creative attacking play

🌞 SUMMARY:

  • The strategy that’s in NFL? Rugby league has it AND it happens at a much faster pace in a much more physical and athletic game
  • 2023 season has just started
  • Fubo TV usually show 1 game per week or you can get a gamepass at http://nrl.com.
  • Americans should watch better sports. Rugby league is one of them.

Oh, and about State of Origin:

  • It’s really state against state, mate against mate
  • often these players play for the same team outside of state of origin
  • but playing against each other, for their state, will belt the shit out of each other too
  • All-Stars would never

https://youtu.be/fEcU_pFnGWo

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